Joyce Center braces for Orange

Former Wawasee star Shanna Zolman remembers her roots as the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers take on Notre Dame.

Former Wawasee star Shanna Zolman remembers her roots as the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers take on Notre Dame.

December 30, 2005|SCOTT DAVIDSON Tribune Staff Writer

She's still simply "Shanna'' to her hometown. That gives a glimpse of just how much admiration the Syracuse community still holds for Shanna Zolman. And, in part, how the down-to-earth Tennessee star still remembers her roots. Zolman is set for some kind of homecoming Saturday. The former Wawasee High School superstar leads No. 1 Tennessee into the Joyce Center to face No. 12 Notre Dame. The game, slated for a 2 p.m. tipoff, is just the third home sellout in the 29-year history of Notre Dame women's basketball. Many of those fans are expected to don the UT orange and make the one-hour trek from Kosciusko County to support their hero. "I can't wait to play back home,'' said Zolman in a recent phone interview. "I'm very excited to be able to play in front of so many very familiar faces at a place where I went to games at. "My support is second to none. It means the world to me to know that so many people want to come see me play. I really appreciate it.'' "It doesn't seem like it's been four years since high school. To know that those fans still want to support me truly means a lot. It really is an honor for me. For them to respect me as a person is of the utmost importance to me.'' Zolman, whose home is a long 3-pointer from the high school she made famous, still sports her green armband in a show of her roots. "It's who I am,'' said Zolman of the treasured item her father Kem gave her in the fourth grade. "That's me. It's my roots and my family.'' Zolman, who chose Tennessee over Notre Dame, returns to a familiar venue. The 5-10 do-it-all guard set the state scoring record with 3,085 prep points. Zolman earned Miss Basketball honors in 2002, capping a career as one of the top players ever in the Hoosier State. She averaged 33.2 ppg. for her career, leading the state in scoring all four years, and pacing Wawasee to a 74-19 record. She set national records for consecutive free throws (70), career free-throw percentage (93.5) and season free-throw percentage (95.4) in earning All-American honors. "I have great respect and admiration for Shanna,'' said legendary Vols coach Pat Summitt in a recent teleconference. "She's a coach's dream. She's a self-made player. She's just so self-motivated and driven.'' "She's one of the best and most popular players ever to play in Indiana. She made her mark and deserves all the credit because of how hard she has worked. It's amazing her impact back home on the Syracuse community.'' Zolman is enjoying a banner senior season for the undefeated Lady Vols. The backcourt star and All-American hopeful leads her 11-0 team in scoring (17.0), minutes played (30.5), 3-pointers (31) and is tied in assists (2.8). She is also second in free-throw percentage (.917) for a team with a winning margin of 29 points per game. Zolman, who is shooting 49 percent overall from the field and 48 percent on 3-point attempts, has led her team in scoring in six games and had 14 in a 75-50 win at No. 22 Temple Wednesday night. Zolman, who averaged 12.5 ppg. her junior year, now has 1,339 career points. "Shanna is our most improved player this year,'' Summitt said. "That speaks volumes about her. She worked to get to a higher level of play as a senior.'' Just how big is Zolman back home, an hour away in the Wawasee community? "I know people here who bought Notre Dame season tickets this year just so they could see Shanna play,'' related Wawasee athletic director Mary Hurley. "She's still huge here.'' Wawasee sold 450 tickets to the game with the first 200 going in three hours before referring fans to Notre Dame. The school also had a commemorative T-shirt made to mark the special game. Hurley, who watched as crowds of 3,000 and more flocked to Zolman's high school games, remembers seeing another side of the humble star. "I remember her patience,'' recalled Hurley. "She had to come in and sign things every day her senior year. I would just leave a stack for her in my office. She never saw that as a burden. That was neat. I'll always remember that.'' Kem Zolman, Shanna's father and high school coach, is looking forward to tomorrow's contest. "This is a pretty special thing for us,'' said Kem, still the Wawasee coach. "It's a neat thing to see all of the interest people still have in her. It says a lot about Shanna and her character and the legacy she left. It still gets to me when I think about it." The younger Zolman still remembers the past while excelling in the present. The exclamation point on a prolific prep career came Jan. 12, 2002 in front of nearly 5,000 fans at North Side Gym in Elkhart. On that historic day, Zolman scored 50 points to set the state scoring record. The record-breaking bucket came with just 40 seconds to play on a steal and layup. "That was so magical,'' recalled Zolman. "I'll never, ever forget that. "Right now, I'm very comfortable and confident in my game. I've looked forward to being the leader of this team for four years. "I'm definitely happy the level I'm playing at. But, I'm also not satisfied. It's a constant battle to improve every day.''